Week 44- New Area, New Companion

(just a note from Mom... he has obviously learned the language because writing in English is getting harder. So enjoy his spanglish letters home! I do!)

 

Hello From Tuxtla Gutierrez!!

Well hello everyone hope your week was a great one. I am in a new area and well i feel like a little kid in a big city haha its quite interesting i am no longer the big man on campus i am the little man in a huge city there are like 3 or 4 zones in the city of Tuxtla and well its quite big. SO ya but its a nice thing to know that mountains still exist because well i feel like i am hiking them haah its quite fun but a bit on the legs when you are so used to flat areas. 

Well I learned that through trusting in god he will make the best things happen in our behalf. well let me take this for an example as we read 4 Nephi and the book of Mormon what do we see? well we see that through the faith of the people well the faith that they had in Christ. wee see as the people get older and it passes through a couple generations the faith of the people starts to linger well then when we start the book of Mormon well there it all goes all of it the whole thing the whole entire faith and hope and charity and love the whole thing it just get to be the worst then all he believers are killed and well i am now reading in Mormon where Moroni tells the sad sad tell of being alone. and then comes in a song lonely i am so lonely i have nobody to call home ohoooo MR. Lonely. he was really a lone alone running for his life hiding and doing all he can to just live another day more. he writes that he has no idea how long he will live but he has been called of god to keep the plates safe and that is what he explains. but isn't it interesting that he is a lone with nobody but himself and he is still writing. hum that's quite interesting. I think sometimes we feel absolutely alone, but we really aren't we are surrounded by the people who love use are surrounded by the many people so why do we feel alone sometimes? I don't feel alone if that's what you are thinking right now i just remember being in the mtc and feeling alone but i really wasn't. All i need to say is if you feel lonely then get active and do something to get your mind off of being alone call a friend or go talk to someone because well we are never as alone as Moroni. 

Well the pictures are of My new Companion Elder Zambrano from Minnesota USA and well that's from today because we had an activity and saw a canyon with president Cardenas and a bunch of Missionaries so ya it was quite fun then we went and played soccer so ya all good today!!!!

 

Well hope you all have a great day!!! love you all just remember to smile and to remember that we are never alone!! 

-Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 43 - I'm changing areas!

Well WOW!!!

That's all I'm going to say is wow!!! I got word this morning that I am changing my area. After 8 months here in the wonderful Ixhuatan I am going to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Juarez Area so ya a change here. It has actually been a thing I sort of knew about for a week or two that ya I'm leaving my first area to see a bigger part of the mission. But everything is just great here it's hot and well after a week of working its nice to have a day of preparation to well prepare for the week ahead. so there is some news for this Monday afternoon.

Well we had a baptism this week we baptized Abraham, no not the prophet a man named Abraham, and a man that is an example to us all. But a man that will just put on a smile to know he is the luckiest guy around and the most clean of sins. he is a great guy, now my companion and his new Companion from the MTC, will help him invite his family into the waters of baptism and well his two grand kids will hopefully enter next Sunday. so ya but Abraham what a great guy what a powerful man in speech even though he doesn't know how to read he sure knows how to listen and he has a testimony of it. He actually got up and bore his testimony last fast Sunday so what a great guy. What a great opportunity to see him grow spiritually and well he is a great man and will go far with the help of the members. what a great man. 

Abraham's Baptism with Pres. Alverez

Ixhuatan District

Well I want to share a little on obedience. I spoke on this yesterday in church and well it was a very good opportunity to show that I am not perfect when I shared a story about the time I flooded my room after washing the car. I can remember my dad and my mom telling me how important it is to turn off the water after using it. and well this time I washed the cars till they where cleaner than clean! man they looked good but I had a destruction hah a now I'm not saying that this person was a distraction I was just not thinking when I took the car for a drive and forgot. the next day after work I found out my consequence from not taking the wise counsel of my parents. oh well we all make mistakes from time to time and well to enter a room full of watery carpet was a bit pleasant well not really but I learned a lesson to always turn off the water. now I am not saying that this is my only time being a bit blank in the brain but I learned a valuable lesson that we need to always be obedient and get rid of the distractions in our lives. in this one it was the nice car all clean and ready for a drive not the girl that was helping me wash the car. but we all make mistakes that's why we are here to learn lessons. every thing we do has a consequence and well thanks to great parents for forgiving me we made it better. needless to say the branch got a kick out of my story yesterday as I told them a problem i had before my mission with the law of obedience. But really we are blessed by our loving father in heaven we are blessed overly. When we make a mistake we can repent and we will be forgiven. we aren't perfect and well we never will be but if we put our faith in the one who really cares for us we will be forgiven and will be helped to not do that again. How blessed are we. Obedience is a key to who we are. When we are going through a hard time we can always correct our foolish ways and make them better. we are not perfect we need our heavenly fathers help to make things right. 

Well this next week will be a good week learning about a big city and how a ward works and not a small town or a branch i'm jumping into the big boy town haha, But it will be a great experience just like my Brother Tyler wait sorry my Brother Elder Monson is jumping into something new. We Will both be close and be doing the best we can with the help of one man our heavenly father then well the prayers of our parents. with faith we can move mountains and be closer than you would know. Good luck Ty on your adventure just remember I'm close but mom and dad are even closer to lift you up spiritually.

Love you all!!!!

Have a great Week and a great Monday!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 42 - The 5am Cow

Well Hello guess what... its Monday!!!

the 5am cow

I just love being a missionary!!! man what fun it is! Life is just so great!! this week was actually very good.  other than the neighbor our good friend and neighbor the cow who likes to go moo!!! at 5 am!!! its a good wake up call if you want to wake up at 5 am haha but for me 5 am means an hour and a half left of sleep. so at 5 am you might hear a little man, my companion, yelling at a cow!! its pretty funny. so ya just a little bit about our neighboring cow. So ya its pretty great.

But this week I would like to share something that was sent to me from my dad. Its a talk by Henry B. Eyring, Remembrance and Gratitude, General Conference October 1989. what a great talk. what a good thing to learn from him about gratitude. he tells us this, There is. A servant of God named King Benjamin taught it to his people and to us.

   He taught them that none of us is above another because we are all dust, to which God has given life and then sustained it. He described a fact which is true for every human being: unforgiven sin will bring us unending torment. And he described the gift we all have been offered: those whose faith in Jesus Christ leads them to repentance and forgiveness will live in never-ending happiness.
   King Benjamin’s teaching had a miraculous effect. Gratitude for what they had led to faith unto repentance. That led to forgiveness. That produced new gratitude. And then King Benjamin taught that, if we can remember and so remain grateful, we will retain a remission of our sins through all the losses and the gains of life. He taught it this way:
   “And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
   “And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.” (Mosiah 4:11–12.) What great counsel we learn from He teach us a lot about having the gratitude for what god has given us especially in prayer. he says this    The Holy Ghost brings back memories of what God has taught us. And one of the ways God teaches us is with his blessings; and so, if we choose to exercise faith, the Holy Ghost will bring God’s kindnesses to our remembrance.
   You could test that in prayer today. You could follow the command, “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.” (D&C 59:7.) President Benson suggested prayer as a time to do that. He said:
   “The Prophet Joseph said at one time that one of the greatest sins of which the Latter-day Saints would be guilty is the sin of ingratitude. I presume most of us have not thought of that as a great sin. There is a great tendency for us in our prayers and in our pleadings with the Lord to ask for additional blessings. But sometimes I feel we need to devote more of our prayers to expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings already received. We enjoy so much.” 

   I am a testament of this I have tried it and wow I could have prayed for the whole night for the things I am grateful for. Each day as I am finishing the day I think of what god has blessed me with today and well I can tell you that sometimes I have no idea how I can express my gratitude more than getting down on my knees and thanking my Creator for the things that he has blessed me with because there are a lot of things. he continues with this.  "You can choose to remember the greatest gift of all. Next week, you can go to a meeting where the sacrament is administered. You will hear the words, “Always remember him.” You can pledge to do that, and the Holy Ghost will help you. President Marion G. Romney talked about the gift we will be helped to remember. He said: “We should be thankful and express appreciation for all favors received—and surely we receive many. The chief objects of our gratitude, however, should be, and are, God, our Heavenly Father, and his son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer. We need to always always always remember the sacrifice he has given for us. what a great blessing to be a part of his church and to partake of the sacrament to always remember him and to tank him for the things he has given us. and well what better way than to use the gift of gratitude. its probably the first thing we learn as kids to always say please and to say thank you. now if we are saying that to the people around us then why not do the same to our father in heaven? What a great gift we have the divine gift of gratitude. 

Well at this time I would like to thank everyone for being you. haha sorry i was just expressing my gratitude. but life is good here and well we will see how this week goes we should have a baptism this week a good old man who always says wow this church is beautiful and the feeling too! what a great guy and well he has to be in the church the correct church because well his name is Abraham haha.

going on "splits" with branch members

 Well I hope you all have a great day its just a great day to be a missionary the Field is white not physically but spiritually, there are people ready for us! 

Well love you all!!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 41

Hey its a new week!!! it really seems like yesterday I was writing this but oh well sometimes time flies and we don't even know it!!!!

This week was a great week. well aren't they all just great?  but this one was a pretty great very wet week. it rained everyday, just about everyday except Saturday.  it was pretty great to feel the water again. When you are a missionary you cant swim but if the water is in places comes up past your knee then well what are you supposed to do? not swim keep walking haha even though it might be wet and a little cool we can't afford to go around the block because well the same thing is happening the whole street, you can call it a river, now that's a bit of water. but after a day of sun it seems to go away very fast. ya the fourth here was just a bit of rain! 

the picture is of Magdiel a young man who is planning to go on a mission next year and  my Companion and I were dry but he was a bit wet as we went against the rain to a lesson. Great guy took one for the team there! But this week was good because we got all of the youth that are planning to go on missions to get in and help us. so we had splits, me and a young man and my companion and a young man. it was great to do double the work in the same amount of time we use in a day!!! so that was nice to have. 

One of the best things about summer break is that everyone is home or in the street and they want to just come up and talk to the little man from Salvador and the tall white guy. Yep I am famous!!! haha but really the work just takes off and goes its crazy!!! my companion will say well where do we go? we need to visit them but they are important too! so that's when we call a young man like Dilan or Magdiel and we tell them to get on their white shirts we are going to play the "missionary for a day" game. its the best game!!! so then we teach people who the boys know and boom they then come to church because we are that cool haha no because they have someone to be with in the church and well like these young men -they always want to go see the girl down the street and talk to her then we let them talk to her and pretty soon they come to church and the boys want to go on splits more haha. it does have its rewards haha for them not us we just get to see them progress spiritually and go figure- all because a boy they got to know the church hum?! well that's a good thing. 

One of the best highlights of the week was a family home evening with a family we are teaching and well it was so beautiful and spiritual we taught the tree of life and it was a great spiritual experience. In church yesterday, this older man that is part of this family got up and bore his testimony of the truth- his first time in the church! He stood up and said I know I am in the right church because Jesus is here with us and I feel him here. wow!!! it was awesome it was very spiritual and very great to see him stand there and with power say I know that this is the right way to go. It was awesome!

Well this week was also very bright at night! Because of all the lightning that just comes all at once its a lot of light! and a lot of thunder after. but don't worry I am taking care of my companion he gets scared sometimes haha but all in all We are doing great!!!!

that's a little bit of the week I had and well I am looking forward to having another great one!!! just remember to smile!!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson